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Tuesday, 11 January 2011

Artwork of the day

Among the few women artists to have survived in the male dominated world of the past centuries, Angelica Kauffmann was admired in her times and managed to have a career as a painter at a time when women were expected to be nothing more than wives and mothers. She spent a great part of her life in England as the protégée of Sir Joshua Reynolds, although she was originally from Switzerland.

The theme of this painting comes from the Classical period, as was common among the Neoclassicists who reacted to the ‘frivolous’ rococo style. It presents the story of Cornelia the mother of the Gracchi who presents her sons as her jewels when another woman demonstrates to her precious adornments. The story is meant to be didactic and the figures and background are treated are following the Classical tradition.

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About Me

I was born in London where my parents took me to all the great museum of the town before I was one. I grew up in Athens, Greece where I live and the first books I read where about ancient Greek myths. It was not however until I was 20 that I decided to learn more about the past. I studied art history, history and archaeology and I'm passionate about everything that belongs to the past (ancient, medieval, early modern, modern)!